University of Nottingham, September 5, 2011:A bacterial strain of a harmless soil-dwelling bacteria that specifically targets tumours could soon be used as a vehicle to deliver drugs in frontline cancer therapy. The strain is expected to be tested in cancer patients in two years time. [...] The therapy uses Clostridium sporogenes — a bacterium that is widespread in the soil. Spores of the bacterium are injected into patients and only grow in solid tumours, where a specific bacterial enzyme is produced. An anti-cancer drug is injected separately into the patient in an inactive ‘pro-drug’ form. When the pro-drug reaches the site of the tumour, the bacterial enzyme activates the drug, allowing it to destroy only the cells in its vicinity — the tumour cells. Researchers at The University of Nottingham and the University of Maastricht have now overcome the hurdles that have so far prevented this therapy from entering clinical trials - Harmless soil-dwelling bacteria successfully kill cancer

Børge Svanstrøm Amundsen

"Atlas was permitted the opinion that he was at liberty, if he wished, to drop the Earth and creep away; but this opinion was all that he was permitted" - Franz Kafka

The New York Times, September 12, 2011:A year ago, when chemotherapy stopped working against his leukemia, William Ludwig signed up to be the first patient treated in a bold experiment at theUniversity of Pennsylvania. Mr. Ludwig, then 65, a retired corrections officer from Bridgeton, N.J., felt his life draining away and thought he had nothing to lose. Doctors removed a billion of his T-cells — a type of white blood cell that fights viruses and tumors — and gave them new genes that would program the cells to attack his cancer. Then the altered cells were dripped back into Mr. Ludwig’s veins. At first, nothing happened. But after 10 days, hell broke loose in his hospital room. He began shaking with chills. His temperature shot up. His blood pressure shot down. He became so ill that doctors moved him into intensive care and warned that he might die. His family gathered at the hospital, fearing the worst. A few weeks later, the fevers were gone. And so was the leukemia - An Immune System Trained to Kill Cancer

Børge Svanstrøm Amundsen

"Atlas was permitted the opinion that he was at liberty, if he wished, to drop the Earth and creep away; but this opinion was all that he was permitted" - Franz Kafka

Technology Review, September 18, 2011:For the first time, researchers have shown that a cell-based therapy for HIV/AIDS can reduce the amount of virus in infected people. The breakthrough—big news for researchers, who have struggled for decades to create vaccines and cell-based therapies for HIV—was announced on Sunday at the51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapyin Chicago. To date, the sole treatment for HIV has been multidrug regimens that prolong life but never eliminate the virus. Sangamo BioSciences of Richmond, California,saysit has found a way to protect the T cells that HIV attacks first, so they can live to fight another day - Researchers Announce a Breakthrough on HIV/AIDS Treatment

Børge Svanstrøm Amundsen

"Atlas was permitted the opinion that he was at liberty, if he wished, to drop the Earth and creep away; but this opinion was all that he was permitted" - Franz Kafka

Stanford University School of Medicine, September 20, 2011:In apaperpublished Sept. 21 in the Biophysical Journal, lead author Abilez, a postdoctoral scholar and PhD candidate inbioengineering, and a multidisciplinary team from Stanford describe how they have for the first time engineered human heart cells that can be paced with light using a technology calledoptogenetics. In the near term, say the researchers, the advance will provide new insight into heart function. In the long term, however, the development could lead to an era of novel, light-based pacemakers and genetically matched tissue patches that replace muscle damaged by a heart attack - Researchers create first human heart cells that can be paced with light

Børge Svanstrøm Amundsen

"Atlas was permitted the opinion that he was at liberty, if he wished, to drop the Earth and creep away; but this opinion was all that he was permitted" - Franz Kafka

Medical Xpress, September 28, 2011:Phase I clinical trials developed by Spanish Superior Scientific Research Council (CSIC) together with Gregorio Maranon Hospital in Madrid and Clínic Hospital in Barcelona, reveals MVA-B preventive vaccine's immune efficiency against Human's immunodeficiency virus (HIV). 90% of the volunteers who went through the tests developed an immunological response against the virus and 85% has kept this response for at least one year. Safety and efficiency of this treatment have beendescribedin articles for Vaccine and Journal of Virology science magazines - MVA-B Spanish HIV vaccine shows 90 percent immune response in humans

Medical Xpress, September 29, 2011:Imagine a single drug that would treat most, if not all, autoimmune disorders, such as asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, and Lupus. That might not be so hard to do thanks to a team of researchers who have discovered a molecule normally used by the body to prevent unnecessary immune reactions. This molecule, pronounced "alpha v beta 6," normally keeps our immune systems from overreacting when food passes through our bodies, and it may be the key that unlocks entirely new set of treatments for autoimmune disorders. This discovery was recentlypublishedin research report appearing the Journal of Leukocyte Biology - Scientists discover a 'master key' to unlock new treatments for autoimmune disorders

Børge Svanstrøm Amundsen

"Atlas was permitted the opinion that he was at liberty, if he wished, to drop the Earth and creep away; but this opinion was all that he was permitted" - Franz Kafka

Technology Review, October 5, 2011:A team of New York City scientists has created human stem cells by implanting the nucleus of an adult skin cell into an egg cell—a feat otherwise known as cloning. The advance represents a major success in human stem cell research - Cloned Human Stem Cells, with a Twist

Børge Svanstrøm Amundsen

"Atlas was permitted the opinion that he was at liberty, if he wished, to drop the Earth and creep away; but this opinion was all that he was permitted" - Franz Kafka

Duke University, October 5, 2011:In a first-ever demonstration of a two-way interaction between a primate brain and a virtual body, two monkeys trained at the Duke UniversityCenter for Neuroengineeringlearned to employ brain activity alone to move an avatar hand and identify the texture of virtual objects. "Someday in the near future,quadriplegicpatients will take advantage of this technology not only to move their arms and hands and to walk again, but also to sense the texture of objects placed in their hands, or experience the nuances of the terrain on which they stroll with the help of a wearable robotic exoskeleton," said study leaderMiguel Nicolelis, MD, PhD, professor of neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center and co-director of the Duke Center for Neuroengineering - Brain Power Moves Virtual Objects

Børge Svanstrøm Amundsen

"Atlas was permitted the opinion that he was at liberty, if he wished, to drop the Earth and creep away; but this opinion was all that he was permitted" - Franz Kafka

Ohio State University, October 16, 2011:For the first time, researchers have found a way to inject a precise dose of agene therapyagent directly into a single living cell without a needle. The technique uses electricity to “shoot” bits of therapeuticbiomolecules through a tiny channel and into a cell in a fraction of a second.L. James Leeand his colleagues at Ohio State University describe the technique in the online edition of the journal Nature Nanotechnology, wherethey reportsuccessfully inserting specific doses of an anti-cancer gene into individual leukemia cells to kill them. They have dubbed the method “nanochannel electroporation,” or NEP - Researchers do precise gene therapy without a needle

Børge Svanstrøm Amundsen

"Atlas was permitted the opinion that he was at liberty, if he wished, to drop the Earth and creep away; but this opinion was all that he was permitted" - Franz Kafka

Johns Hopkins University, December 13, 2011:Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a jelly-like material and wound treatment method that, in early experiments on skin damaged by severe burns, appeared to regenerate healthy, scar-free tissue. In the Dec. 12-16 online Early Edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchersreported their promising results from mouse tissue tests. The new treatment has not yet been tested on human patients. But the researchers say the procedure, which promotes the formation of new blood vessels and skin, including hair follicles, could lead to greatly improved healing for injured soldiers, home fire victims and other people with third-degree burns - In Third-Degree Burn Treatment, Hydrogel Helps Grow New, Scar-Free Skin

Børge Svanstrøm Amundsen

"Atlas was permitted the opinion that he was at liberty, if he wished, to drop the Earth and creep away; but this opinion was all that he was permitted" - Franz Kafka

University of Missouri, December 20, 2011:University of Missouri engineers and their research collaborators atNanova, Inc.are one step closer to a painless way to replace fillings. After favorable results in the lab, human clinical trials are underway on the “plasma brush.” In less than 30 seconds, the plasma brush uses chemical reactions to disinfect and clean out cavities for fillings. In addition to the bacteria-killing properties, the “cool flame” from the plasma brush forms a better bond for cavity fillings. The chemical reactions involved with the plasma brush actually change the surface of the tooth, which allows for a strong and robust bonding with the filling material - “Painless” Plasma Brush Is Becoming Reality In Dentistry, MU Engineers Say

Børge Svanstrøm Amundsen

"Atlas was permitted the opinion that he was at liberty, if he wished, to drop the Earth and creep away; but this opinion was all that he was permitted" - Franz Kafka

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, January 10, 2012:MIT engineers have developed a nanoscale biological coating that can halt bleeding nearly instantaneously, an advance that could dramatically improve survival rates for soldiers injured in battle. The researchers, led by Paula Hammond and funded by MIT’sInstitute of Soldier Nanotechnologiesand a Denmark-based company,Ferrosan Medical Devices A/S, created a spray coating that includesthrombin, a clotting agent found in blood. Sponges coated with this material can be stored stably and easily carried by soldiers or medical personnel. The sponges could also prove valuable in civilian hospitals, says Hammond, the David H. Koch Professor in Engineering. “The ability to easily package the blood-clotting agent in this sponge system is very appealing because you can pack them, store them and then pull them out rapidly,” she says. Hammond and her colleaguesdescribed the technologyin the Dec. 27 online edition of Advanced Materials - New way to stop the bleeding

Børge Svanstrøm Amundsen

"Atlas was permitted the opinion that he was at liberty, if he wished, to drop the Earth and creep away; but this opinion was all that he was permitted" - Franz Kafka